Means for supporting and moving excavating-machines.



C. W. ROOD.

MEANS FOR -SUPPORTING AND MOVING EXCAVATING MACHINES. APPLICATION manI FEB. 21,1909.A

1 ,1 9 1 ,0,35 Patented July 11, v1916.

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C. W. ROOD.

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING ANDA MOVING EXCAVATING MACHINES.

APPucATIoN FILED FEB. 3. 1909.

1 ,1 9 1 ,035 v 4 Patented July 11, 1.916.

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C. W. HOOD.

MEANS F08 SUPPORTINGAND MOVING EXCAVATING MACHINES. APPLICATION min fEB. 3, 1909,

1,191,035. Patented Ju1y11,1916.

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CHARLES w. ROOD, OF BRITT, Iowa, resslcfnon.or.ONE-HALF 'rocIIAnLi-is c. JACOBS,

OIsv AlvIBoY, ILLINOIS. i

MANS FORl SUPPORTING AND vMOVING EXCAVATING-MACHINES.

y Sipecication of Letters Patent. Patent July 11,1916.

Application med February 3, 1909. Serial No. 475,741.

To allwhom t may concern.: 'y

Be it known that I,- CHARnes W. Roon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Britt, county of Hancock, State of Iowa',-V

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Means for Supporting and Moving Excavating-Machines, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains vto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Trouble is always experienced in moving ditching machinery about, particularly over the soft and even wet ground in vwhich a ditch or trench is being dug, because of the great weight of the machinery which causes any ordinary supporting device, such as wheels or rollers, to sink into the ground;

and the object of the present inventionis to provide asimple and novel'construction and arrangement of parts whereby machinery of this character may be firmly supported. and

at the same time be capable of being shifted readily from one position to another,

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its object and advantages, referencepmay be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: l

Figure l is a plan view of a machine arranged in accordance with -one form of my invention, the excavating apparatus being omitted; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1'; Fig. 3y is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a slightly different position of the parts; Fig. 4 is a section on line 1 -4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan view of one side of the apparatus Showing connections for reversing; and Fig. 6 is a view similar'to. Fig. 2, showing, however,.the connections illustrated in Fig. 5. i

In accordance with my invention I pro- 50, vide an elongated track upon which the carriage ofthe excavator is mounted and over which it runs.v The track isl preferably made of considerable width or is' mounted upon a wide supporting member so thatthe weight of the carriageywill be distributed over a considerable area, thereby making the track less'fapt-'to sink into the ground. Some kind of power mechanism is provided between the track fand the carriage for effecting relative-movements in either direction between the track and carriage. Means are V also provided for locking the carriage `against movement when'it is desired to advance the track so' that when lthe power mechanism is actuated the relative movement between the track and the carriage results in producing an advance of the track, while the carriage remains stationary. A .fter the track has been advanced the car-l riage is allowed to be moved in the same direction,l the track now remaining stationary because the friction between it and the ground 'is greater than the frictionV between it yandthe carilia'ge; It is obvious that many different forms Of devices or-mechanisms may be employed for effecting the desired relative movements be-'r tween the track and carriage, and that the locking means for maintaining the'carriage stationary while the track is Aadvancing may be varied in many different ways. I pre-l fer, however, to' make use of elongated brake shoes which are adapted to bear againstV the ground and create a considerable frictional resistance which is distributed over a widearea so that the shoes will not become fastened in the ground, so as to make their release difficult, even when great pressure is brought to bear upon them. I also prefer to so arrange the parts that the friction shoes will be subjected to at leastl a part of the weight of the carriage and apparatus borne thereby during the operation of advancing the track, thereby relieving the pressure upon the track during the Aadvancing movement. i In the `drawings I have shown only a Single form of my invention, and the de-l scription will be Vlargely confined to this particular form but itv will of course be understood that my invention is notlimited. to the particular construction so illustrated.l

vReferring to the drawings, A represents the girders -are a pair of elongatedxtrack members C, these track members being free il()v 1.1.1017@ 11p and down and also longitudilio nally. The track members are adapted to lie upon the ground and to form ways over which the carriage may be moved. In the case of wide carriages which are adapted Vto bridge a ditch or trench which is being Y per ends to posts oi' pedestals E projecting upwardly from the girders. The members E may conveniently take the form of yokes within which the legs are suspended. Each of the girders is provided with a pair of laterally extending anges b extendinghorizontally in the plane -of the underside of the girders. rlhese fianges are adapted at times to rest upon the ground and support the carriage independently of the tracks, thisv being when the tracks are advanced so as to permit the carriage to be shifted into a new position. The legs upon which the carriage is hung are longer than the vertical distances between the rollers or wheels and the pivots at the upper ends of the legs when the flanges b are resting rupon the ground. It will therefore be seen that if the inclination of the legs is changed .so as tol bring them more nearly into upright positions, the entire carriage will be lifted, carrying the flanges out of engagement with the ground and permitting carriage to be moved freely along the tracks.

In accordance with'm)7 invention I provide means whereby, when it is'desired to advance the tracks, the flanges b are allowed to rest upon the ground so as to free the Vtracks from the weight of the super-structure; while, when it is desired to advance the carriage along the tracks, the supporting legs are brought more nearly into vertical positions, thereby raising the flanges b clear of the ground. I also provide between the tracks and the carriage mechanism `which will exert a sufliciently strong force' to produce a relative movement between the track and the carriage under either `of the conditions just described. It will be seen thatl any relative movement which takes place when the carriage is being supported upon the flanges will be in eect a movement of the tracks alone because the tracks, on account of their lightness, will slide over the ground under a pull which will not affect the carriage. Also, when the carriage is supported wholly upon the tracks, a relative movement between the tracks and the carriage will result in a movement of the carriage alone while the tracks remain stationary; for, in order to move the tracks in this case, it will be necessary Ato overcome ment of power mechanism which will permit the track and the carriage to be moved alternately in one direction, while in Figs.

k5 and G I have shown an arrangement wherein it is possible to move both the tracks and the carriage either backward or forward.

Referring to F igs, 1 to LI, F, F represent two drums carried one by each girder. Since these drums and the mechanism .which is to be hereinafter described are alike on both sides of the apparatus, only one set will be referred to. G is a cable, one end of which is secured to the drinn and the other end to one of the tracks as at g. H is a second cable one end of which is secured to the drum and which then passes over a sheave or pulley I, carried upon one end of the girder, thence over a pulley or sheave K, carried by one of the legs D and thence to the opposite end of the track where it is fastened as at t. l, Z indicate idler rollers .which guide the cables G and H. M is a rod or cable connectiiig the two legs D, D. Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. l, wherein the carriage is located at one end of the tracks, then by turning the drum in the counter clock-wise direction, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3 the cable Grremains idle since it is being unwound, while the cable H is being wound upon the drum and therefore shortened; thisshortening of the cable H resulting in a pull tending to bring the right-hand end of the track toward the cai'- riage. The fianges t are still resting upon the ground as shown in Fig. 2 and the track is, of co-urse, also resting upon the ground so that there isconsiderable frictional resistance to oppose a movement of either of these parts.v It will be seen, however, that the cable H in passing' around both the pulleys or sheaves I and K begins to exert a pull upon the legs tending to bring them in more .nearly upright positions as soon as a cable becomes taut. Consequently, before either the track or carriage can begin to move the connected legs will be swung slightly about their pivots, thereby raising the flanges Z) from the ground. The entire weight of the carriage is now borne upon a track so that'it will remain stationary and, since less effort is required to roll the carriage along the track than to liftl it bodily, further lifting ofthe carriage will cease and it will begin to roll along the track; this movement being continued as long as the drum is actuated or until the end of the track is reached. In F ig..8 I have indicated the condition of the parts just as the carriage begins to travel. Assuming that the carriage has beenv moved to the right in Fig. l until ico it isvat the right-hand endg( of the tracks then, when it is desired to advance the tracks farther tothe right the drumsmare actuated, Yin the reverse direction, namely in the clockwise direction as viewed -invFigs 2,i and33. The cable H will now Vbe the inactive one as it is being unwound; While the cable G will c be drawing upon the left-handend of the track and force the track toward the right. It will be seen that as the rotation ofthe drumrin the counter clock-wise direction is stopped or a rotation in the opposite direc'- tion is begun, the carriage vwill be allowed to is being wound, noadditional downwardv pressure comes upon the track while it is 1 being advanced.-

The two drums may be driven in any suitable manner. Thus where there 1s an engine such as N for actuating the excavator, al

counter-shaft O may be connected thereto by means of a friction clutch 0 and the drums may be driven from this counter shaft. Since it may be desirable to move oney track at a time a pair of clutches P may be provided between the counter shaft and the two drums so that when either of these clutches is thrown in the corresponding drum Vwill be actuated and when both are in their operative positions the two drums will be driven simultaneously.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated one side of a machine equipped so that either the carriage or the tracks may be shifted in either direction. This is accomplished by simply duplicating the cables Gr and H and' the parts associated therewith, the connections, however, being reversed from those shown in Fig. 2 so that when one cable is being operated its mate on the opposite side is idle. The drum F1 is made long enough to receive four cables, that is, the cables Gr and H and a similar set of cables G1 and H1 which are arranged oppositely with respect to the cables G and H so that when one of the cables of either side is being wound the corresponding cable of the other side is being unwound. The cable G1 is connected to the end of the track which corresponds to the right-hand end in Figs. 1 to 3; while the'A freeend of the cable H1 is connectedas at h1 to the end of the track which corresponds to the left-hand endin Figs. 1 to 3. Similarly there is a sheave or pulley I1 at the left-hand end4 of the girder, this sheave or pulley corresponding to the one at the rightehand end. There is also a sheave or pulley K1 secured to the left-hand leg D.

The operation when moving either the track or the carriage toward the right iS the l.in both instances.v When it is dei sired to move the trackV or the-carriage-toward the left, in the arrangements shownfin Figs. 5 and 6, the legsmust beshiftedso'as Y fi to bring lthem on the` opposite-:side of hthe .verticalA axes passing throughA theirfpoints ofconnection withthe girder. j Then, by actuatingthe drums, the tracks or thefcarriage maybe shifted toward. the left in the manner previously described vfor movementV in the opposite direction. It will be seen that during thel operation of' shifting the,

tracks one of the cables of the other group will tend to swing the legs in the manner previously described; but, since the-legs are now inclined in the opposite direction this pull ,upon them vwill simply tend to lift them i from the tracks and therefore add no additional weight to the tracks.

INhile `I4 havel described in great detailfa single embodiment of my invention'I -do not desire to be limitedrto any ofthe. specific features of construction shown and described since,.in its broader aspects, my invention may take widely different forms from that illustrated Vas will be evident from the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

Having now fully what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent is:

1. In combination, a movable track adapted to lie upon the ground, a carriage mount# v ed to run upon said track and having a shoe adapted to rest upon the ground'and act as a brake, connecting mechanism between said track and said carriage arranged to,

move the track under the carriage while said shoe is resting upon the ground and then'to lift said carriage so as to raise the shoe and move the carriage along the track in the same direction as that in which the track moved, and means for actuating said mechanism.

2. In combination, a pair of independent movable track members, a carriage mounted to run upon said track members, and connecting mechanism between said track members and said carriage constructed andarranged to shift said track members beneath the carriage independently of each other or in unison and then to shift the carriage over the track members in the same direction as vthat in which the track members moved.

described my invention,

upon the ground, a carriage, a shoe on the carriage adapted-to rest upon the ground, a plurality of connected legs pivoted to said carriage and having wheels thereon arranged to ride upon said track, said legs being of such lengths that they normally lie at an anglev to the` vertical, and connecting mechanism between said track and said car,

riage including members fastened to said legs for moving said track beneath the car- 13,0

riage and then liftingthe carriage through said legs and moving it over the track vin the same direction as that in which the track moved.

4. rIn combination, a track adapted to lie upon the ground, a carriage above said track, said carriage being provided with shoes on opposite sides thereofso constructed and arranged as normally to rest upon the ground, and mechanism between said track and said carriage constructed and arranged to shift the track along `the ground beneath the carriage and then to lift the carriage from the vground and move it along the track.

5. In combination, av track adapted to lie upon the ground, a carriage mounted to run on the track, means for supporting the carriage upon the ground so as positively to prevent movement longitudinally of the track in either direction which may be selected and leave it free to move in the opposite direction, and means adapted to produce a relative movement between the carriage and the track 1n the latter direction.

6. In combination, a track adapted to lie upon the ground, a carriage mounted to run on the track, a single set of shoes adapted to rest .upon the ground beside the track, a single set of devices arranged between said shoes and said carriage for causing the carriage to be supported on the ground so as positively to prevent movement longitudinally of the track in either direction which may be selected and leave it free to move in the opposite direction, and means adapted to produce relative movement between the carriage and the track in the latter direction.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specificationv in the presence of twol witnesses.

CHARLES W. ROOD.

Witnesses:

C. RAI-IM, C. H. WoosTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

